North East ambulance calls top 500,000

THE number of emergency calls attended by ambulances in the North East has topped 500,000, according to research.

Figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show in 2012/13 there were 517,800 call-outs, up from 483,200 in 2011/2012.

Nationally, almost two million patients were treated at the scene by ambulance services without needing onward transportation, a 10 per cent rise on last year’s figure of 1.81 million.

Of these patients, more than one in three, 34.2 per cent, had been assessed by the call handler as falling into category A, which meant their condition was potentially life threatening. The Ambulance Services, England: 2012-13 report shows control rooms received 9.08 million emergency calls in 2012-13(2), a rise of more than half a million, 6.9 per cent, on 2011-12.